"Underwriters Laboratories Inc., like many other Intellectual PropertyRights and Trademark owners, has seen a dramatic increase in the amount ofcounterfeited products and trademark labels on those products in the past,several years," said Robert Crane, lead enforcement manager,Anti-Counterfeiting Operations, UL, Chapel Hill, N.C. "For several decades, ULhas integrated security features in many of its labels."

Crane participated in a panel discussion as part of the newAnti-Counterfeit Products Initiative hosted by Electrical Contractor magazine,published by the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), Bethesda,Md. at http://www.ecmag.com, and The Electrical Distributor (TED) magazinepublished by the National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED), St.Louis. The new, joint industry initiative is endorsed by NAED, NECA and theNational Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA).

A few warning signals for counterfeit lighting include surprisingly lowprices, unusual labeling or certification marks and a lack of sales tax on areceipt since counterfeiters generally don't report their sales. Consumersshould also be aware of street vendors and unauthorized dealers.

Crane said that holographic labels were developed to further thwart thepiracy of UL labels, with the first holograms introduced in 1993 fordecorative lighting strings and outfits. Since the holograms were sosuccessful, he said that additional categories for products manufactured inChina also required holographic labels and more requirements were added thisyear including the newest gold holograms.

Published by the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA),Bethesda, Md., Electrical Contractor magazine delivers 85,300+ electricalcontractors and more than 68,000 electrical contracting locations, more thanany other industry publication. Telephone: (301) 657-3110. Web site:http://www.ecmag.com.

SOURCE Electrical Contractor magazine